Page 17 of Fall of the Alpha

17

THE BETA SPY

Trace

Watching the Sigma carefully as he stared down at the male who had been bound to a chair and gagged, Trace didn’t see any sign of deception in Alek’s demeanor. He was clearly shocked.

“Redmond?” The Sigma stared at the captive Beta. Dark-haired and dark-eyed, he met Alek’s gaze with a look of disgust before having to drop his eyes. Sigma or not, in times of stress, when angered, or his protective instinct was triggered, the Alpha side would out. “You’re a spy for my father?”

“I take it you know him?” Cora asked, making the Beta flinch. She’d deliberately chosen to stand behind him, knowing the effect on a Beta of being in the presence of multiple Alphas—including one he could not see.

“I thought he was my friend.” Alek was still obviously in shock. Despite his father, the male was incredibly straightforward in his thinking, from everything Trace had seen. He was not particularly skilled at deception. Unless, of course, he was incredibly good at deception, but even Grigori had never managed to hide his hatred and fear of Alphas. Nor his lust for poor Titania. She had been deceived, but only by her own blinders when it came to him. If she’d relied on what her instincts told her about him, she might still be alive today.

The way the blockers dulled all instincts was apparent in Alek, though. As a Sigma, he should have been particularly sensitive to the moods and emotions of those around him. Instead, he was almost… na?ve.

Not at all what Trace had expected from Grigori’s son.

He glanced at Cora, who met his gaze and nodded thoughtfully, as though she was having the same thoughts.

Tucked next to the door—with Marek and Zadia on either side of her as they guarded the entrance despite the lack of need—Aria was watching Alek closely. This little interlude would likely determine his fate, despite the bonding that had occurred over the past few days. It would certainly cement Aria’s opinion of him. She could be a bloodthirsty little thing for an Omega. Whether or not she would accept Alek had been the biggest hurdle to Cora’s plan, but she was falling in beautifully. Cora hadn’t told her the plan because if she had, Aria would have felt pressured to accept him, and they’d wanted her true reactions.

Thankfully, it was all coming together.

And now they had one of Grigori’s spies. One who knew Alek and would be able to report back on the changes he’d clearly gone through. A bonus.

Stepping forward from where he was standing next to Alek—they were leaving the Beta, Redmond, in the middle of the room so he would feel completely vulnerable—Trace pulled the gag from his mouth.

“Filthy Alpha.” He spat at Alek. The gag must have dried out his mouth because it didn’t go far, the spittle scattering across the floor between them. Alek was still staring. He looked almost hurt through the shock. Trace shook his head. Either Grigori had raised the greatest actor who ever lived, one who could control his scent as well as his emotions, or he’d had very little hand in raising his son at all.

He could absolutely believe the latter.

“Not an Alpha. A Sigma,” Cora corrected, making the Beta flinch again.

She’d moved a little closer, so silently that he would not have known until she spoke. From the way his shoulders hunched, he was probably expecting a blow. It was a reasonable enough assumption, but they needed him healthy enough to return to Grigori with his information.

Trace stepped back, letting Cora menace the Beta from behind. The fact that he’d returned to stand beside Alek was not lost on Redmond. His gaze flicked back and forth between them, as if he was trying to understand what had just happened.

“Traitor!” he shouted furiously at Alek. His eyes blazed with fury.

“You have blocks for brains,” Aria said with a snort. She shook her head. “You call him a filthy Alpha, then wonder why he might not be loyal to your stupid Zone? What kind of sense does that make?” The kind of sense they followed in the Zones, where they tended to do the opposite of their professed beliefs. Especially when it came to the territories.

Trace doubted the Beta even saw the hypocrisy now that it had been pointed out to him.

“Shut up, slut.” The spy turned his head toward her, then howled as Cora slapped him from behind. It was a hard enough blow to make his head snap back around, though not hard enough to cause any permanent damage. The pale skin of his cheek was now bright red, and he panted, his pupils dilating with both fear and pain.

Alek was still staring at the Beta, though his fists were now clenched at his side, as if he was holding back his own blow.

Insulting Aria had certainly been a mistake. Some Alpha’s went bad, something about their personality or their preferences twisting to squash the protective instinct or even turn it into something cruel toward Omegas. Trace and Cora weren’t sure how or why it happened, but they had seen it. The old Warlord of this territory had been like that, and everyone in his territory had suffered terribly for it before the Wolf overthrew him.

The Sigma clearly did not have that problem. His protective instincts seemed even stronger than they might have expected, considering how low a threat the spy was and how paltry the insult had been.

Something inside Trace relaxed at this further confirmation that Cora’s plan could actually work.

Alek

Redmond was one of his father’s spies.

His father had spies.

Really, truly had spies. He’d almost doubted it, but Redmond’s behavior was proof enough. The hatred and disgust emanating from him whenever he even glanced at Alek was enough to nearly bowl him over. It was not as though they’d ever been very good friends, but still… they’d talked. Shared food together. Had been to each other’s houses.

Their families had been friends, which had necessitated a relationship. Perhaps it had been more companionship than true friendship, but Alek had not thought Redmond would hate him.

Had Redmond always hated him, and he just hadn’t known? Hadn’t suspected?

Still glaring at Alek, Redmond lifted his chin.

“We were told you were captured. Kidnapped. Clearly, you’re here by choice.” Redmond’s gaze flicked down to Alek’s empty hands, crossing between the small space between himself and Trace. Alek shifted away from the Alpha automatically, stepping away from Redmond at the same time, as if he could hold himself apart that way.

But Trace reached out, his large hand curving around the back of Alek’s neck as a soothing purr rumbled through him… and Alek relaxed.

Redmond’s eyes widened. Now it was his turn to appear shocked.

“I was kidnapped,” Alek said. “Now I’m here by choice. And to learn more about my father since I clearly do not know him as well as I thought.” Not that he’d ever thought he knew his father all that well. He knew his father’s expectations for him, and that was about it.

At least, he’d thought he’d known.

Now, he wasn’t sure of anything anymore.

Behind Redmond, Cora leaned over. The sound coming from her was not at all a soothing purr, like what Trace had used to calm him. It was a low, threatening growl, somehow all the more intimidating due to its softness. It vibrated up Alek’s spine, so he could only imagine how it felt to Redmond, who was much closer to her.

“Now, you’re a very lucky Beta, Redmond. When we’re done with you, we’re going to send you back to Grigori. There’s a message we want you to pass along for us. But first, we have a couple questions for you.”

“Do your worst.” Redmond jerked his head upward, baring his throat like he expected Cora to slice it open.

That was when Alek realized the male was afraid of the Alphas, but he wasn’t confused by the fact that Aria—an Omega —was standing unmolested in a room of them. He wasn’t terrified the Alphas would tear him apart.

He knew.

He knew they were lies.

Of course, he did—he was a spy.

Had he ever been one of the ones talking about how unwary Omegas were torn apart by Alphas? Or how the suppressors were necessary to keep everyone safe?

Alek couldn’t remember. The beliefs, the horror stories, were so often told that he was not sure who had said what.

But Redmond knew it was bullshit. And he certainly had never spoken up against the prevailing beliefs. That was something Alek was sure he would have remembered.

Chuckling, Cora ran her hand over Redmond’s throat, making him shudder.

“Silly Beta. We don’t need to hurt you. We have an Omega.”

Lifting her head, Cora crooked her finger at Aria. His eyes widening, Alek started forward at the same time that Aria skipped toward Redmond. She did not seem at all concerned with her own safety. Neither did Cora or Trace. Trace’s grip on Alek’s neck tightened, holding him in place, as Aria plopped down in Redmond’s lap.

His eyes widened, head rearing back.

“Now, the funny thing is, if you were more used to being around Omegas, she might not have as much of an effect on you,” Cora said amiably. “Territory Betas are mostly desensitized unless an Omega is in heat. You, on the other hand…”

Redmond was sweating, his face turning as red as the print on his cheek as Aria made a cute little chirping sound and wriggled around on his lap.

“Get her off me!” He sounded as if he was being strangled.

“As soon as you tell me what I want to know.”